Johnny Carinos - North Little Rock

Last night for birthday dinner. great experience. it is obvious that they read the negative feedback here and make necessary changes. we were greeted by a smiling friendly host when we entered into a table where the waiter was there in less than 1 minute. server was attentive, friendly and excellent. eating was on site, better than visiting the last. Monday night half price on family plates is also what was great. feather a family of 4 for right at $40. we had nothing but great experiences in the whole board. if they had a bad experience here in the past, they give them another chance. they make a comeback!

We had dinner here while we visited family. it was our 2nd choice, but ihop had 1 server on a busy Friday night, so we went next to carinos. not too busy in less than 5 minutes. waitress was great, eating was good, prices are reasonable. we enjoyed a 2/$10 drink special that was delicious. I had a fizzy bell, a margarita.

The elefant in the room is the size of the portion. for $8 they get tortellini that cost less than $2 in budget. they don't leave you hungry for a lot of broth, but I haven't paid $8 for broth now? it is a real scandal, because the splashy pasta should only be served with filling and soned that every cook should be enthusiastic. the warm chewing spoon is served with a addictive garlic oil dip that increases the bar to what they expect from their appetizer. you can say that eating was made with real hearts. Too bad it's so overpriced. (the food was supplied by a third)

The service was great. The food over cooked not tasting good had to ask for another plate. Still over cooked and dry. Like if they heated up the same piece?

I was in the mood for Italian... not many good options in the Little Rock area, and most are closed on Sunday night... decided to give Johnny Carino’s in North Little Rock a chance... Filthy, messy restaurant! Won’t be back! I arrived at what I would consider prime time, about 6:30. My table was sticky, not from food, but from the varnished wood tabletop becoming gummy after years of mistreatment. The hostess brought me a drink and bread, then I waited for at least 7 minutes for my waiter to arrive. I will admit that he seemed busy, but there were several other waitstaff milling around and peeking out of the back kitchen area. The main kitchen is open, and I watched a waitress wiping off serving trays over the counter where the main cook was finishing plates of food. My calamari appetizer was sloppily plated, but fairly pleasant to eat. The Caesar salad was way overdressed. My combo of chicken parm with spaghetti and “baked” cheese tortelloni was mediocre. The restaurant was only 1/4 full, but from where I was sitting, at one point I could see 14 tables with remains of previous meals. Even with the bevy of waitresses chatting around the kitchen and drink station the whole time, few of the tables were cleaned off during my entire visit. There was just a general air of the staff being there to earn a paycheck, but not much concern about the experience of the customers...